I decided to pledge the same as I had the year previous (which I was unable to keep). My pledge was to use a re-usable water bottle for the entire month of May instead of the plastic ones that I have always used. Not using a plastic water bottle was to my surprise much more difficult than many things I have done before. However, I did! Today is the first day of June and I haven’t used a plastic water bottle since the last day of April. It was difficult, but I was able to use my NRHS bottle to show off some school spirit while I was helping the environment.

I have come to enjoy the challenge of pledging to give something up for a bit of time – perhaps it will result in me stopping altogether. Regardless, I have decided to start pledging something that I want to stop doing, take a break from, or even start doing from now on. In the summer I plan to do something each week, but for now I have something in mind that I will try quitting for the month of June: Pop!

I am going to see if I can make the month of June without drinking any pop whatsoever, including Pepsi, Sprite, Coke, Root Beer.. none of it! I’m sure I can do it and perhaps I will even feel a bit healthier by the end. (Do Energy Drinks count?!)

I first have to ask, what’s up with each subject needing to write at least two parts to an exam? Some have to write three! What’s that about? I know it happens, but come on we’re in high school, there’s no need for that! Regardless, today was the only day I had to write because both parts were back to back starting at 8:30am and ending around noon. The first part of Paper 1 started great, but as Texte C and D presented themselves, I found myself in a panic! Luckily I wasn’t alone when I was faced with writing a ‘tracte’. How was I supposed to know that meant flyer? At least Paper 2 went very well and I finished in no time. Fingers crossed for a 5 so that Dal will except it as a credit, but a 6 would be nice too! (‘Tracte’ might have ruined my chances of a 6 though) I felt ready with the little studying I did, but you can never be 100% ready for an IB exam.

And of course, we just had to write on our day off school (Victoria Day) and missed out on a beautiful sunny morning! The first we’ve had in weeks! Lucky for most of the students that wrote today, they are officially finished with High School. I have to go back for one more month, but luckily I will have free periods where French used to be! It’s crazy that this is the last month of High School coming up for me! I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I am looking forward to a lot of the Grad activities, and will no doubt be quite busy as the year is coming to an end.

Kudos for now.

A lot of the time people don’t want to write 500 – 1000 words for ‘only $500′… $500!! Most people complain about spending $2.00 on something in the cafeteria, but writing a small essay for 250x that amount of money is completely not worth it; I really don’t understand. I’ve been there, a lot of the time you want to be out with friends or there’s school work that needs to be done, but sometimes you just need to take the time and power through a bunch. The motivation can sometimes be hard to find, but just remember it will be one of the highest paying job you will ever have. Even if it takes you two hours to fill out a $500 scholarship application, if you get it – that’s $250 an hour. Not too shabby!

If you think you’re not good enough for one, you’re probably wrong! Take the time to try at least, it can’t hurt. A lot of the time you might be the only one that applies anyways! Don’t let thinking you’re not good enough stop you from filling out scholarship applications. Everyone is awesome in their own way and there are tons of people out there wanting to fund your education!

Take a minute, fill out an application today.

I don’t want to ramble on but I will be completely honest, there are some places I have gone where I was scared for my life and just wanted to get the hell out of there. The important thing to remember is to make the smart decision. If someone is walking around with a hammer or crowbar, perhaps it’s time to make yourself scarce and eventually head on home! Everything thinks they are the shit, and get a little too crazy – they’re not.

The best kind of parties are the one with around 25 people, sitting in a couple rooms of a house just socializing. Everyone is doing their thing, having some fun, but it’s not scary and out of control. Yeah, maybe the music can get a little loud, but there’s no worry that someone will smash anything or light something on fire; like I mentioned before, I’ve seen someone get their couch lit on fire – not cool.

Every now and then, it can be a lot of fun to just have a few people in a car driving around, waving at people and drinking energy drinks and eating candy. Come back to the house and play video games, perhaps 2K11. A crazy sugar driven night is always fun, especially when mixed with fireworks

The reason for my recent interest in types of high school parties is based off the one I attended last weekend. I thought at first it was a nice, calm relatively peaceful party. I’m sure it was, but from my perspective, I was a little upset. Upon leaving, I was searching for my sneakers and noticed that I couldn’t find my right shoe. I thought I must have kicked it somewhere, so I went looking around. I could not find it anywhere! My drive was leaving, so I was forced to leave with my sock and left shoe. I had also ordered a donair, so I needed to pick that up from Acropole with only one shoe. Not impressed. All day, I have been complaining about my shoe!

“I’m never going to another damn High School party again”

I gave my mom a call and she informed me that Continental had cancelled our flight. To which of course I replied, why? She told me that she has no idea, could not get an answer out of them. We will have to take the same flight tomorrow instead, and they will make sure we get the new connecting flight. Strike one for Continental. This doesn’t make things easy! We now have to make sure the tour guide isn’t there to pick us up on the wrong day, which is difficult because we are 9 hours behind their time, making it the middle of the night there. We now also lose a day of our tour! Not happy about that! Hopefully we will be able to use of our free days at the end to make up our lost day in Delhi.

Finally, on top of all of that, when I got to the cafeteria at lunch time today to ramble about my new found problems, I decided to take out the Monster Energy Drink I had planned to have on the way to the airport; when I opened the can, it exploded all over the table, creating first a mess I did not want to clean up and second taking away from the amount of drink I had! Regardless, not a great day but I hope it all works out tomorrow and we can move on to our incredible trip to India!

In just three days, I will be heading to the good ol’ exit 6 to make my way onto an airplane heading direct to Newark! Granted, that isn’t my final destination. On March 10, I will be making my way to Delhi, India. My mother and I have been planning this trip for a few months now, but have also talked about going to India for years. We will finally get to do it after our 15 hour flight from Newark, which is bound to be a treat.

This will no doubt be a trip of a lifetime, and quite a culture shock. I do not know a lot about the country, but we have been doing a bit of research lately. Unfortunately things are getting quite busy around here, especially with needing to take a few days off school for this. Which, I have no problem with because everyone knows you learn so much more on a trip to another culture than you ever could in a classroom. Regardless, I must get going and stop the procrastination of all my school work. I definitely plan on taking many a pictures and will have them up as soon as I can after we get back!

Some things that I am talking about could include MCing an event, doing a presentation on behalf of a group, speaking at a conference, attending a meeting that you’ve never gone to before – simply to learn more! There are so many things that are going on around you, the trick is not to let them pass you by. Ask around, see what you can do today.

Jumping at opportunities will help people grow as individuals by trying new things and working on their abilities. It will also expand on your experiences and help out when trying to get a job or further your education. It can also help the community and schools as a whole by getting new people involved. Fresh ideas and energies are essential for any project or event. People are always looking for someone to take their opportunities, why not be that somebody?

Granted one thing I have felt after doing that for so many years now is that sometimes you also have to learn how to say no. The idea is that if you can do something and you have time for it, do it. If you would love to do something, but you don’t think you will have enough time to do it well, it’s okay to say no and give someone else the chance to jump at the opportunity.

Regardless, I just wanted to mention that it is always a good idea to take advantage of anything going on around you in your workplace, community, or school. It is very rewarding and can be so much fun!

Until next time.

High School is so busy with everything people have also said to get involved in, and applying to universities and filling out paper work gets bumped down the list. Unfortunately due dates sneak up very quickly and as far as applying for your post-secondary education, this is not something you want to pass in late, half-assed. It’s hard to sit down and focus and get it done, but we need to remember how important it is. This is something we need to give serious thought, and make sure we’re making the right decisions.

One thing that drives me crazy is that counselors and other supportive adults always say to apply everywhere to keep your options open. Applications range however from $60 – $100 just to have them look at it. This makes it difficult for a lot of people to apply to universities ‘just in case’. The trick is to make sure you have worked hard through high school and apply for the early registration to guarantee a spot at the university.

Community College or University?

That has been a question pondered by many students for years. The fact is that there is no one correct answer for everyone. It definitely depends on what you are looking to pursue as a career. Absolutely any trades would be done at a college where research and raw academia would be best at a university. Stipulation comes in with business and some sciences. There is also the fact that universities will award degrees where colleges have diplomas. Personally, I feel that universities have always been looked at as the superior, but more and more people coming out of college seem to be the ones starting their careers sooner and making more money.

I feel that for me, university is the way I want to take it. I am interested in business and finance and think a degree would be best, possibly following up with a masters in the future. I hope to work in International Banking someday. Being good with numbers, I know I will be able to do it, and that I would enjoy the work. I also love seeing the world and would love having my job contribute to getting me to other countries.

It’s probably time I go apply…

This website will now be used for my personal opinion on many things that are going on in my life and the world around me. A place to collect thoughts and ideas and keep people up-to-date on what is happening in the world of Devon (for those that are at least interested). Being as opinionated as I am, I feel this will be a great place to express feelings about certain events, products, ideas and other what-nots. I would like to make it clear that anything expressed on this website is purely my personal point of view. This website will also be a great venture that I plan on using throughout University to share all of those wonderful experiences as well.

Here’s to New Beginnings!